Callier Center Welcomes Russian Delegates

May 10, 2012

A group of Russian educators and public officials toured the UT Dallas Callier Center for Communication Disorders recently to see the facilities and the work of the University’s audiologists and speech language pathologists.

The visitors were interested in learning more about American social agencies, new technological approaches to working with children and the practices of non-profit organizations.

During their visit, the group viewed the observation and testing rooms where patients meet with audiologists and speech-language pathologists. They were told about how closely clinicians work with the parents of younger patients so that progress continues at home after each session.

The group also saw the interaction between children and teachers in Callier’s Child Development Program.

The Russian delegates included educators and committee members of various education and youth programs. The World Affairs Council of Dallas/Ft. Worth arranged for the group to travel to the United States as part of the Open World Program, an international exchange effort sponsored by the U.S. Congress.

“The focus of their visit to the U.S. [was] youth development and their goal [was] to meet with their counterparts in the U.S. to share knowledge and to learn from our best practices,” said Brett Stanley, director of the International Visitor Program at the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Ft. Worth.

Once the tour was finished, the delegates thanked their Callier guides and presented them with various trinkets from Russia.

Melissa Sweeney (center) a program manager for cochlear implants at the Callier Center, exchanged ideas about clinical care and education with Russian delegates during their recent visit to the Dallas facility.